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Reviews
The Perfect Storm (2000)
$120 million was probably spent on imported bottled water +
The $120 million it cost to make this film was probably spent on gallons and gallons of imported bottled water that Mr. Clooney, his crew and other unfortunate sea-farers had their faces splashed with + George Clooney's acting services. If Clooney or some other big-name actor was not given the lead for this film, this film surely would have sank at the box office. I'm not in any way endorsing his acting skills. This was the first film I've seen him in. He's not a bad actor, but just about any decent actor could have delivered his lines here.
I couldn't help but think of "Titanic" towards the end of the film. "The Perfect Storm" had an unexpectedly sad ending, and was about the only time where the film moved me. If you've seen "Titanic", don't bother with this.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Do lok tin si (1995)
Disappointing follow-up to "Chungking Express"
After being exposed to Wong Kar-Wai's masterful work, "Chungking Express", I expected this "sequel" to at least match or exceed that great work of art bestowed upon us. This film is merely a rehash of its predecessor that failed to live up to my expectations. Sure, it has its funny moments and quirky characters, but I guess Faye Wong's cute and lovable character from "Chungking Express" was just too hard to top.
The quirkiness of the characters in this film, especially the part of He Zhiwu (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) seemed forced here and too way over-the-top to be believable.
If you're going to take your chances on this film, have yourself a half-gallon tub of your favorite ice cream and watch for that ice-cream scene.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Drive Me Crazy (1999)
Second-rate cast in a Second-rate film
Seems like the cast for this film was picked from those that were rejected for more glamorous teen flicks like "Can't Hardly Wait", "She's All That" or "Jawbreaker".
The results weren't too bad, but they weren't too good either.
This film has the all-too-familiar "boy has girl"--"boy loses girl"--"boy tries to get girl back" story line with a few twists and not much more.
Melissa Joan Hart delivers a good-enough performance in her lead role that should land her in more films, but the same can't be said for her co-star Adrian Grenier.
If you're a pre-teen or in your early teens, you'll probably enjoy the sugar-coated songs laced all over this film like Britney Spears' "Crazy" and Backstreet Boys' "I Want it that Way".
If you didn't appreciate "Can't Hardly Wait" or "Jawbreaker", then watching "Drive Me Crazy" will.
Jawbreaker (1999)
Enjoyable and highly underrated.
I was hoping that this wouldn't turn out like "The Mod Squad", a teen flick which wasted 90+ minutes of my life. "Jawbreaker", which comes in under 90 minutes was a surprisingly good, if predictable film, with a sweet & sour ending.
I look forward to seeing Rebecca Gayheart, a teen screen beauty and her partners in crime (Julie Benz and Rose McGowan), as well as the victim (Charlotte Ayanna) of a harmless gag gone horrifically wrong in future films. They are truly eye candy (for guys anyway).
You can't go wrong with a school girl, whose life changes when she is transformed from geek to goddess and changes her name from Fern to Vylette. Ahh...Vylette! What a name and what a shame how her 15 minutes of fame go down the drain!
Rating: 7 out of 10
Last Night (1998)
Not impressed
Maybe it was the high average rating this film had that led me to have overly high expectations, but for the most part, I found this film to be boring. The performances of Don McKellar and Sandra Oh (excellent in "Double Happiness") were good, but they weren't enough to hold up this film.
The ending scene, however, was the high point of this film and was touching and dramatic, as the two leads ready themselves for the end of life and the end of the world.
5 out of 10
Chung Hing sam lam (1994)
A wonderful dreamy romance
This film is one for the ages. The way some of the scenes in this film were shot and the way some of the dialogue is presented could have some of you thinking that you were in a dream-like state.
"Chungking Express" isn't flawless, as two of the lead characters in the beginning of the film are nowhere to be found in the "second" part of the film. You may feel as though you were left hanging, wondering what became of them. If you're able to shut that aspect out of your mind and think of "Chungking Express" as two films in one, then you're on your way to what is possibly one of the best romantic comedies you'll ever see.
Bridgette Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro star in the first part of the film, Lin as a mysterious woman in a blonde wig and sunglasses and Kaneshiro as a lonely cop looking for love. His daily ritual of consuming something very particular and the measures he goes through in his search for someone to be with will have you rolling on the floor.
The second part of the film stars Faye Wong and Tony Leung, Wong as Faye, a counter person with a cute personality at Chungking Express and Leung as a cop (Officer 663), who's lost his girlfriend. Faye seems to have a thing for the cop, but won't openly admit or show it. She secretly does him favors and is obsessed, and I mean obsessed with the song "California Dreamin'". Her unwillingness to admit her crush leads to some cute and awkward face-to-face encounters with the officer.
Love is a wonderful thing.
9 out of 10
Hun shen shi dan (1998)
A Must-See!
I don't think most of us would tend to apply the term "must-see" to action films, but I was very impressed at how good this film was and it deservedly gets the "must-see" stamp from me.
Mandy played by Shannon Lee (daughter of the late and great Bruce Lee and sister of the late Brandon Lee) is recruited by Martin, a professional thief to help pull off a diamond heist at a museum for a criminal syndicate, and get rewarded handsomely for it. Little do they know that another pair of thieves (Lucy and Tommy, a pair of lovebirds), who were spurned earlier by Mandy and Martin to get in on the deal, are also planning to steal the diamond.
How each pair of thieves plans out the heist is a thrill to watch. Things go awry, as Martin and Mandy unknowingly find themselves a step behind Lucy and Tommy.
You'll find yourself rooting for these thieves as they find that they need each other to stay alive from the crime syndicate, who are not happy at all that the diamond is not in its hands.
Action fans will not be disappointed, as there's a healthy dose of gun battles, martial arts, and hand-to-hand combat sequences.
What is surprising is that, it's not just the action that carries this film, but the romance and laughs (and I don't mean your typical one-liners prevalent in action films) that sneak in.
It's not easy to root for bad guys, but we get to see the human side of these thieves and the chemistry they develop.
A great film and one NOT to miss!
9 out of 10
The Mod Squad (1999)
Boring
This is one of the most boring films I've ever seen. The three main cast members just didn't seem to click well. Giovanni Ribisi's character was quite annoying. For some reason, he seems to like repeating what he says. If he was the "Rain Man", it would've been fine, but he's not.
3 out of 10.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Great piece of work
Films in the gangster/mobster genre all seem to have the same "feel" to them, but there's something about "Reservoir Dogs" that sets it far and apart from the rest. How does a gangster film get away without having any female characters playing token bimbos or mistresses? How exciting can a film be when most of the scenes take place at a drab warehouse? Through Quentin Tarantino's clever direction, this film more than holds its own. It is simply a great piece of work.
Go (1999)
A thrilling ride
The story of thrill-seeking teens out for some thrills and they get exactly that and more. It's life in the fast lane for one night and doesn't screech to a halt.
The scene at the supermarket between the guy high on "E" and the female cashier is a classic.
Comparisons of "Go" have been made with "Pulp Fiction", which I still haven't seen (call me a geek for that, if you want), but "Go" was a thrill-a-minute and I enjoyed every second of it. "Pulp Fiction" must be a masterpiece.
"Go" gets a 9 out of 10.
8MM (1999)
Truly Awe-FULL
Saw this film when it was first released and it was just awful. Since then, I have refused to see action/thriller films starring Nicholas Cage. "8mm" is one of the most visually disturbing films I have ever seen (the others being "Xiu Xiu" and "Boys Don't Cry", which were good films). It was hard to stomach some of the visuals and is most definitely not for the faint-of-heart or squeamish. This gets a whopping 4 out of 10.